What is the definition of a Christian movie? The definition that I'm working with is a film that is thought provoking and the thoughts provoked tend to lead in the direction of any of the various Christian virtues or other Christian themes.

That to me does not in and of itself make a movie Christian. Part of what makes a Christian movie Christian, IMO, is that it is written by Christians with the specific intent to express Christian themes. Either that, or it's based on a book, such as Lord of the Rings, that adheres to those guidelines.

Again, I'm not saying that movies that don't follow these loose rules can't have redemptive value in a Christian sense, since I see a lot of that value in The Stand. I'm not even saying that they're not valuable watching during Lent, for they very well may be. I just wouldn't call such movies Christian.

Just for the sake of argument- by what criteria are you judging JRR Tolkien to be a Christian as opposed to Stephen King? Is it just that you like Roman Catholicism better, or that you believe Tolkien's devout Catholicism is Christian whereas King's jaded Methodism isn't?

That would be a valid comparison if I was aware before entering this discussion that Stephen King was a Methodist.

what do we make of a work the author intended to be a work of dark Christianity?

Considering that I hadn't known of Mr. King's religious persuasion until now, I'm not really prepared to answer this question.

In all fairness, Mr King is not currently a practicing Methodist, and might not even consider himself a Christian. However, the strong Christian themes that run throughout his books- The Stand being a good example, Salem's Lot, The Darktower series, and Desperation being others- are entirely intentional.

I was just wondering how you had arrived at your judgement about one book being Christian and the other not- whether it was content or the religious affiliation of the author.

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"Funny," said Lancelot, "how the people who can't pray say that prayers are not answered, however much the people who can pray say they are." TH White

What is the definition of a Christian movie? The definition that I'm working with is a film that is thought provoking and the thoughts provoked tend to lead in the direction of any of the various Christian virtues or other Christian themes.

That to me does not in and of itself make a movie Christian. Part of what makes a Christian movie Christian, IMO, is that it is written by Christians with the specific intent to express Christian themes. Either that, or it's based on a book, such as Lord of the Rings, that adheres to those guidelines.

Again, I'm not saying that movies that don't follow these loose rules can't have redemptive value in a Christian sense, since I see a lot of that value in The Stand. I'm not even saying that they're not valuable watching during Lent, for they very well may be. I just wouldn't call such movies Christian.

Just for the sake of argument- by what criteria are you judging JRR Tolkien to be a Christian as opposed to Stephen King? Is it just that you like Roman Catholicism better, or that you believe Tolkien's devout Catholicism is Christian whereas King's jaded Methodism isn't?

That would be a valid comparison if I was aware before entering this discussion that Stephen King was a Methodist.

what do we make of a work the author intended to be a work of dark Christianity?

Considering that I hadn't known of Mr. King's religious persuasion until now, I'm not really prepared to answer this question.

In all fairness, Mr King is not currently a practicing Methodist, and might not even consider himself a Christian. However, the strong Christian themes that run throughout his books- The Stand being a good example, Salem's Lot, The Darktower series, and Desperation being others- are entirely intentional.

I was just wondering how you had arrived at your judgement about one book being Christian and the other not- whether it was content or the religious affiliation of the author.

It was primarily the religious affiliation of the author as I knew it.

People are always talking about spiritual growth during Lent, but what about intellectual growth? Watch the vid and see how many things you disagree with and why. Also, since it's Bart Ehrman, it will help build patience and longsuffering!

My kids were having a hard time going to sleep tonight, and so I told them they could stay up and watch a movie with me. Ten minutes of Into Great Silence later, they were out and I was able to turn it off.

« Last Edit: April 17, 2012, 12:51:44 AM by Agabus »

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Blessed Nazarius practiced the ascetic life. His clothes were tattered. He wore his shoes without removing them for six years.

THE OPINIONS HERE MAY NOT REFLECT THE ACTUAL OR PERCEIVED ORTHODOX CHURCH